Morph's Noble X-Men: The Animated Series Exit Radically Differed from Comics Lore

 

One controversial (and quickly disavowed) comic had a shocking farewell to the cult-favorite metamorphing animated X-Man. I look back at both exits this week at CBR.

EXCALIBUR Annual #1 - August 1993

Black Magic

Credits: Evan Skolnick (writer), Chris Marrinan & Audwynn Newman (pencilers), Mark McKenna, Danny Bulandi, & Keith Williams (inkers), Dana Moreshead & Mike Thomas (colors), Janice Chiang (letters)

Summary: A dark elf plagues Cerise’s dreams. With Excalibur, she traces the source of her dreams to a nearby castle, occupied by an elderly magician named Ghath. He blames the dreams on his attempts to return to his true world and apologizes. Suddenly, the dark elf Khaos breaks in and attacks. After taking him captive, Cerise realizes that Ghath is the true enemy; a sorcerer who’s still causing destruction on his homeworld of Irth. Excalibur and Khaos follow her to Ghath’s castle, where they’re magically transported to Irth. They defeat Ghath, only to discover after returning home that remnants of Ghath’s spell have trapped Khaos on Earth. He declines Excalibur’s offer to join and focuses on discovering a way home.

Continuity Notes: This story is set shortly before Alan Davis’ final Excalibur storyline, “Days of Future Yet to Come.”

Gimmicks: This comic comes polybagged with a Khaos trading card.

Review: Excalibur had a 1993 annual? A Collectible First Appearance of a New Marvel Superstar annual?! Somehow, I was unaware of this gem until I discovered an online article about the 1993 annual stunt. This same article has an interview with Evan Skolnick that confirms that Khaos and his associated cast of characters began life as creations in Skolnick’s teenage Dungeons and Dragons campaigns. This means that Khaos has ten times the backstory of the average 1993 annual creation, which Skolnick attentively spells out over a lengthy flashback sequence. Trust me, there’s a lot of history behind Khaos that I haven’t recapped, largely because it isn’t germane to the main story at all.

Now, of course it’s absurd that Excalibur’s caught up in an adventure with a Marvel staffer’s D&D avatar, but I have to admit that Khaos is more tolerable than almost all of the other 1993 debut characters. There’s nothing unique about a noble warrior from a fantasy world that’s trapped on Earth, but I don’t recall those tropes showing up too often in the early ‘90s. Khaos is about ten years behind the times, but considering that those times mostly brought us cyborg bounty hunters with fantastic mullets, he’s almost a welcome bit of nostalgia at this point. The problem with the story is the lack of connection between Khaos and Excalibur. There’s some talk of Khaos being a misfit during his youth, and Nightcrawler is jealous of Cerise’s apparent attraction to him, but these are minor moments in a very dense story. There’s also a tacked-on rationalization that Khaos and his friends could be Irth’s incarnation of Excalibur, which is a weak way of trying to tie Excalibur’s long-running alternate reality shtick into throwaway annual filler. This could just have easily been a West Coast Avengers adventure; trying to sell the audience on some phony association with Excalibur is just a reminder of how generic this story has actually been.

Honey is Money

Credits: Joey Cavalieri (writer), David Boller (penciler), Kevin Conrad (inker), Glynis Oliver (colors), Richard Starkings (letters)

Summary: A knight serving the Princess Flavia holds Numbers hostage, forcing the Technet to retrieve special nectar from another dimension. After narrowly escaping from giant bees, Technet returns with the bounty. Flavia appears and takes the nectar, using it to cure the knight’s acne.

Review: It’s a Technet comedy story, so of course this is going to be silly and lighthearted. The use of Princess Flavia is a nod to people who might be familiar with the character from literature or opera, but it’s not as if Cavalieri is trying to produce a serious work here. It’s a joke story, and since most of the jokes work, I can’t complain.

EXCALIBUR #125 - October 1998

Tying the Knot

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Dale Eaglesham (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), Kevin Tinsley (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Douglock, who's awakened with amnesia, is teleported to the Otherworld by Widget to attend the wedding of Brian Braddock and Meggan. Following Brian’s revelation that he knows Colossus was lying to cover for Meggan, and that he understands why she developed feelings for him, the wedding goes off smoothly. After the ceremony, Moira takes Douglock back to Earth for treatment. Meanwhile, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, and Colossus reveal that they’re going “home” to rejoin the X-Men. Roma asks her father Merlyn, who attended in disguise, why he’s arranged for Excalibur to disband. He responds that he didn’t, therefore the team must be exercising their freewill.

Continuity Notes: Virtually every character ever to appear in this series has a cameo. This includes Kylun, who reveals that his missing parents were merely on vacation, which means his glorious quest is over. Micromax says that he’s been laid off from the Brand Corporation and is unemployed. Peter Wisdom doesn’t attend; a brief scene shows him drinking alone and staring at the invitation. Widget's cameo is hard to reconcile with the ending of Alan Davis' run, which established that Widget was an older incarnation of Shadowcat from the future.

I Love the '90s: The date of the wedding is given as August 19, 1998. Later, Shadowcat promises to teach everyone how to “raise the roof” on the dance floor.

Review: So, Excalibur is sent off with a wedding, which I guess is preferable to a horrific bloodbath or forced “dramatic” break-up. It’s hard to complain about this issue, since it’s clearly intended as a tribute to the series and the dedicated fans who managed to make it all the way through to the end. Some obscure characters return, a few loose ends are resolved, and the team peaceably disbands. If you’re not familiar with the past of the book, much of this will go over your head, and the appearance of the Nazi Excalibur team from “The Cross-Time Caper” will just leave you wondering why exactly Brian and Meggan invited Nazis to their wedding. Even if you are familiar with the continuity, it’s hard to believe these characters are in the audience. (Maybe Brian and Meggan had no say over which members of the Captain Britain Corps would be invited.)

I am left wondering why exactly Raab has introduced a new Douglock subplot in the final issue, unless he has an X-Men Unlimited issue in the works that’s going to resolve this. I’m also confused by Peter Wisdom’s cameo, specifically his lack of an eyepatch. I’ve heard people ridiculing Raab for years for giving Wisdom an eyepatch, yet it’s never appeared in Excalibur. When did this come about? At any rate, this is an acceptable, low-key send-off for the book. I don’t think it redeems Raab’s largely mediocre run, but it’s a sweet ending with no shortage of fan-service.

EXCALIBUR #124 - September 1998

Someone

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Dale Eaglesham (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters), Kevin Tinsley (colors)

Summary: Brian Braddock and Meggan hold their bachelor/bachelorette parties, with Mimic and Captain UK as invited guests. Both Meggan and Colossus ponder how to tell Brian about Meggan’s crush on Colossus. Eventually, Colossus decides to lie and tell Brian that he was the one with feelings for Meggan. Meanwhile, a new Executioner leads the Crazy Gang to attack Excalibur. During the fight, Executioner is unveiled as Feron, who attacked the team in order to seek their attention. After Excalibur affirms their friendship with Feron, he joins the party.

Continuity Notes: Feron explains his departure from the team, revealing that following Captain Britain’s disappearance in Excalibur #67, he was overwhelmed with Meggan’s empathetic grief. This lead to him losing his corporeal form and getting washed away in the tide. Eventually, he came across the Crazy Gang, and enacted his plan to punish Excalibur for forgetting him.

“Huh?” Moment: Douglock, the alien cybernetic being, is somehow able to get drunk on vodka.

I Love the '90s: Captain UK offers to show Mimic her copy of The Full Monty.

Review: Excalibur is coming to an end, so apparently it’s time to drag out the Alan Davis material that Marvel casually dumped when giving the book its X-makeover. Over fifty issues too late, we’re given an explanation for Feron’s disappearance, along with the return of Marvel UK villains, the Crazy Gang. Ben Raab could’ve revealed that Feron simply quit the team in-between issues, but instead he’s gone with a more elaborate “missing in action” resolution. Revealing that Feron mysteriously disappeared in-between issues makes the team look bad for never looking for him, but then again, since his disappearance was off-panel, you could just imagine that Excalibur’s search for their teammate also occurred in-between issues. Any anguished monologues about how badly they missed the little brat were also conveniently off-panel, of course. Really, the story’s not meant to be taken too seriously. It’s an excuse to bring back a forgotten former member and some old villains, wrapped around some standard bachelor party humor. It’s more amusing than most of Raab’s run so far, and Dale Eaglesham’s art is thankfully less “x-treme” than the previous issues.

EXCALIBUR #123 - August 1998

Lost & Found - The Search Part Two

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Trevor Scott (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters), Kevin Tinsley (colors)

Summary: Excalibur fights the erratic Mimic, who fends off the team’s attacks. Following Nightcrawler’s orders, Douglock uses his techno-organic coils to shock Mimic with electricity. Mimic is stunned into submission, and the telekinetic dome surrounding the Zero Tolerance outpost disappears. The Prime Sentinels escape, with at least one Sentinel expressing gratitude to Excalibur. Meanwhile, Meggan prepares for her wedding to Brian Braddock. She asks Moira if she should reveal to Brian the crush she developed on Nightcrawler during his absence.

Continuity Notes: According to Brian, his Captain Britain powers still haven’t returned. His fear that Meggan would reject him without his powers was the main reason he stayed away from the team for so long.

Review: Excalibur is only a few issues away from cancellation, so Raab has begun to set the stage for the finale. Brian and Meggan are now making real plans for their long-delayed wedding, while Shadowcat tries to reassure a dubious Nightcrawler that Excalibur still has a reason to exist. In-between the conversations, the team gets beaten up by Mimic for a few pages. The fight scene is mainly there to fulfill the action quota, although Raab slips in a bit of characterization for one Prime Sentinel. The unnamed cyborg prevents her fellow Prime Sentinels from killing Excalibur while the team is distracted, condemns Bastion for tricking her into becoming a Sentinel, and renounces her own prejudice as she flies off into freedom. I don’t think anything else was done with this character (years later, Chris Claremont will introduce another sympathetic Prime Sentinel), but I appreciate the attempt to humanize at least one O:ZT participant. The rest of the issue is by-the-numbers action/subplot juggling, although Raab’s dialogue isn’t as awkward as the previous issue, so it’s an easier read.

EXCALIBUR #122 - July 1998

The Search - Part One

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Dale Eaglesham (penciler), Scott Koblish (inker), Kevin Tinsley (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Following the leads provided by Sabra, Excalibur travels to a Zero Tolerance outpost in Peru. Inside, the team is attacked by Prime Sentinels who have taken the form of the original X-Men. Eventually, the team realizes that the Sentinels want their help. A Prime Sentinel explains that this base escaped the UN’s notice and has continued to operate after Bastion’s arrest. They adopted the guise of the original X-Men in an effort to calm an unruly mutant prisoner. Excalibur opens his cell, expecting to find Professor Xavier, only to discover a restrained Mimic. Meanwhile, Meggan welcomes Brian Braddock back to Muir Island.

Continuity Note: The Prime Sentinels refer to Mimic as a mutant, which is incorrect. Mimic has imprinted all of the original X-Men’s powers, but he’s not a mutant himself.

Review: Going back to Uncanny X-Men #100, it’s a tradition to pit X-teams against the original X-Men. Why exactly I’m not sure, I don’t think the Avengers or Justice League recycle this idea so often, but Raab does have history on his side. Unfortunately, this turns out to be one of his weakest issues in a while. The dialogue mostly consists of stiff recaps of previous storylines, and the deep internal conflict Nightcrawler is supposed to be going through doesn’t quite work. It’s one thing for a determined Nightcrawler to pursue Xavier’s freedom, while also proving his worth as a leader, but it’s another to have him personally blame himself for Xavier’s imprisonment. Nightcrawler had nothing to do with that storyline! Along with this questionable bit of plotting, there’s Douglock’s sudden adoption of human emotions (he abruptly becomes the team’s whiny brat this issue), a scene that has Shadowcat using her powers to phase the team through Mimic’s telekinetic shield (can she do that?), and some dull recaps of the Muir Island subplots. Moira’s made her peace with dying, again, and Meggan is still in love with Brian. And while I am glad Brian’s back, I assume he’s returning just to be there for the upcoming series finale. Finally, there’s Dale Eaglesham’s fill-in art. This is probably the weakest work I’ve seen from Eaglesham. There’s a generic ‘90s look to it, and for some reason he’s given Douglock dreadlocks. I don’t care if they both end in “lock,” that’s inexcusable.

EXCALIBUR #121 - June 1998

With Friends Like These…

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Trevor Scott (penciler), Andrew Pepoy (inker), Comicraft’s Kiff Scholl (letters), Kevin Tinsley (colors)

Summary: Moira decides to leave her quarantine, while Douglock unsuccessfully tries to reconcile with Wolfsbane. In Jerusalem, the rest of Excalibur joins Sabra to fight Legion. Nightcrawler realizes that their opponents are actually the ghosts of Legion’s multiple personalities, striking out in anger after losing their host body. With Meggan’s empathetic help, the three personalities are able to cross over to the afterlife. In exchange for their aid, Sabra gives Excalibur a disc she claims has information on Xavier’s whereabouts.

Review: With only a few issues to go, Ben Raab assigns the team two missions that didn’t seem to bother the main titles much. The question of what happened to Legion following “The Age of Apocalypse” was never satisfactorily addressed, which didn’t seem appropriate for the character that initiated the largest X-crossover ever, and just happened to be the son of Professor Xavier. Legion’s death was ignored as soon as it happened, and wasn’t even used on the list of growing heartbreaks that led to Xavier’s transformation into Onslaught. Judging solely on the contents of the books, Xavier was shaken more by the murder of the mutant stranger in X-Men: Prime than his own son’s death.

Since Legion’s multiple personalities were much more than creations of his own mind, presenting them as ghosts makes a certain amount of sense, and bringing in Sabra is a nice use of a guest star. Raab actually posits that Xavier asked Sabra to join Excalibur in the past, but she refused the offer. That’s one way of explaining why one of the Marvel Universe’s unaffiliated mutants rarely appeared in the X-books, although the continuity is a little iffy, since Xavier was never involved in deciding Excalibur’s membership. Raab writes Sabra as rude and arrogant, which I believe is supposed to be her default personality, and it makes her a good foil for the team.

The story closes with Sabra handing Excalibur information on Professor Xavier’s location, which was supposed to be a major mystery at the time. Not that the main titles would ever let you believe it, since the X-Men themselves didn’t seem that interested in finding their mentor. Why exactly Nightcrawler assumes Sabra has that info is unclear, unless Raab is riffing on the idea that Mossad has spies within the US government. She later tells her superiors she was lying, which likely means the next issue won’t bring us anywhere near Xavier. Still, it’s amusing that poor, forgotten Excalibur got around to a story called “The Search for Professor Xavier” a few months before the main titles bothered with “The Hunt for Xavier” crossover.

EXCALIBUR #120 - May 1998

Current Events

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Mel Rubi (penciler), Scott Koblish (inker), Comicraft (letters), Kevin Tinsley (colors)

Summary: Douglock hacks into Moira’s quarantine, hoping to free Wolfsbane. In the process, he discovers the Legacy Virus information given to him by Zero might still be accessible. Wolfsbane, however, is incensed that he’s potentially ruined Moira’s research. Meanwhile, Meggan ponders her feelings for Colossus, as Peter Wisdom prepares to leave. After learning of Kitty’s doubts about their relationship, he’s decided to quit the team. Later, as Nightcrawler questions Excalibur’s direction, he receives a message from Sabra informing him that Legion has returned.

Continuity Notes: According to a footnote, this story occurs simultaneously with X-Men #75 (Nightcrawler tries to call the X-Men and only gets an annoyed Marrow on the line). Douglock was given the secrets of the Legacy Virus back in Excalibur #80. The idea has largely been ignored, although Warren Ellis teased the possibility of Black Air stealing the data from Douglock’s brain during his run.

Review: It’s another plot-lite issue from Ben Raab, although we do see the exit of a notable cast member, so something does happen to alter the ongoing continuity. I’m not sure if anyone really bought into the Pete/Kitty breakup, and I suspect it’s one reason why Raab’s run was so detested by internet fandom in the late ‘90s. Even if Wisdom would break up with Kitty after learning about her crush on someone else, I doubt he would leave the team over it. Besides, Pete and Kitty as a bickering ex-couple has loads of possibilities. The only aspect of his departure that works for me is his final conversation with Meggan, who uses her empathic powers to explicitly list all of Wisdom’s character flaws, while still reassuring the readers that he’s a decent guy. The two characters play off each other well, and now I wonder why they rarely had scenes together.

Unfortunately, we’re still dealing with Moira’s utterly idiotic quarantine. It is over as of this issue, and there’s even the revival of Douglock’s forgotten Legacy Virus info, but this was such a stupid idea I don’t think I could accept any solution that doesn’t reveal Moira’s been mind-controlled, or perhaps possessed by a dimwitted ghost, this entire time. And while I’m glad a long-ignored plot thread has been resurrected, with the benefit of hindsight, we all know that the final issues of Excalibur have nothing to do with the Legacy Virus’ eventual cure.

I wonder if Raab knows the axe has fallen on the series by this issue, since he isn’t shy about adding some meta-commentary concerning Excalibur’s lack of luster. Nightcrawler questions why the X-Men haven’t contacted the team about finding the missing Professor Xavier, while Colossus wonders if Nightcrawler is disappointed that Excalibur didn’t seem important enough for Bastion to target. (They weren’t, by the way.) “It’s like we don’t even count anymore,” Nightcrawler moans. It’s as if he can look into the mind of an X-completist. If you’re hardcore enough, you’re still going to buy Excalibur, but who’s really excited by the book at this point?

EXCALIBUR #118-#119, March-April 1998

New Year’s Evil

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Mel Rubi (penciler), Scott Koblish (inker), Comicraft’s Kiff Scholl (letters), Kevin Somers (colors)

Summary: An army of Bamfs kidnaps Lockheed and creates havoc on Muir Island. Meanwhile, Meggan tells Colossus that they can’t be friends because she’s uncomfortable with his feelings, and Peter Wisdom demands Shadowcat tell him why she’s avoiding him. Eventually, the Bamfs make their presence known and attack the team. From the shadows, their master Nightmare enters.

Continuity Notes: Shadowcat feels awkward around Wisdom due to the crush on Rigby she developed in the Kitty Pryde: Agent of SHIELD miniseries. The original Bamfs were products from Shadowcat’s imagination that appeared in the ‘80s Nightcrawler miniseries.

Review: After months of buildup, Lockheed’s shadowy tormentors are revealed. I don’t know if the readers really needed to wait six months to learn that they’re Bamfs, but the little demons are fun. Much of Raab’s run has been pretty dull, so I’m more than happy to see a threat that totally comes out of left field. And while Rubi still struggles with human characters, his cartoony style actually suits the Bamfs quite well. While Raab builds up the Bamf story, he touches base with some of the ongoing romantic entanglements, which doesn’t work as well. Kitty wants to be with someone younger and more like herself, while Colossus suspects that Meggan is pushing him away in order to avoid her own feelings. If the characterizations didn’t feel so flat, these scenes would’ve had more impact, but Raab’s scripting is usually too stiff to really do convincing soap opera material.

Preludes & Nightmares!

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Jim Calafiore (penciler), Rob Hunter (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters), Kevin Tinsley (colors)

Summary: Nightmare plays on the team’s subconscious fears, but is unable to manipulate Peter Wisdom’s dreams. After already dealing with his internal shame, he’s able to stand up to Nightmare and defend his teammates. When Wisdom reveals each member’s true heroism, Nightmare is forced to retreat.

Continuity Notes: Nightmare says he recruited the Bamfs from the “Well at the Center of Time,” last seen in the Nightcrawler miniseries. The Bamfs targeted Lockheed because they’re jealous of his relationship with Kitty. Before leaving, Nightmare says a “mutual friend” will be interested in what he’s learned about Excalibur.

Review: It’s a “Give Each Member a Dream Sequence” issue, as Raab explores the hidden anxieties of each member. Nightcrawler is afraid of what can happen to Professor Xaver in custody (as this was written during the two-year period Xavier was being held post-Onslaught), Colossus sees visions of his dead family, Meggan worries Captain Britain wouldn’t love her in her true form, Douglock questions if he’s ever broken free of the Phalanx, and Kitty fears she was cheated out of her childhood and can’t handle a serious relationship. There’s nothing really unexpected here, but Raab’s delivery is competent enough. Putting Peter Wisdom in the unlikely role as the team’s defender is a good choice, as it emphasizes how far he’s come since joining Excalibur and shows that even a cynic can see the team’s true heroism. His accent is even tolerable this time around, thankfully.

EXCALIBUR #116-#117, January-February 1998

Death in Venice

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Mel Rubi (penciler), Rob Hunter (inker), Comicraft’s Kiff Scholl (letters), Kevin Tinsley (colors)

Summary: Excalibur travels to Venice, where Cerebro has finally located Nightcrawler. Nightcrawler’s captors reveal themselves as exiles of the Sidri. Years earlier, Nightcrawler and Shadowcat disobeyed Corsair’s orders and sent a vaccine to a Sadri ship that was adrift in space. The cure mutated the Sidri, who now seek revenge on Nightcrawler. Excalibur arrives and fights against the Sidri. Colossus is isolated during the battle and left alone against the aliens.

Continuity Notes: The Sidri say that Nightcrawler was delivered to them by Black Air, which is supposed to explain where he’s been for the past few issues. An extended flashback scene, detailing Nightcrawler and Shadowcat “curing” the Sidri, is supposed to take place when Xavier was infected with a Brood embryo circa the extended Brood arc that began in UXM #154.

Review: This is one of the few Excalibur stories to actually take advantage of Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Shadowcat’s history with the X-Men. Raab seems to like that era of the X-Men so much, he dedicates a lengthy flashback to the early ‘80s team, faithfully presented in their proper costumes, riding through space while angsting over Xavier’s Brood infection. They encounter a wandering Sidri ship, which for some reason leads the team to believe the crew is sick. Corsair refuses to stop and help, so Shadowcat and Nightcrawler find a vaccine and shoot it like a torpedo into the Sidri’s ship. The dialogue isn’t clear if Shadowcat misread the Shi’ar description and shot a mutation virus by mistake, or if the vaccine is also a mutagen, but whatever. The Sidri are now mutated and have returned years later to kill Nightcrawler. It’s always amusing to see an “altruism gone wrong” story, but this is just filled with holes. Why did the X-Men assume the Sidri were sick in the first place? Why would Shadowcat presume to know which specific vaccine was needed to cure the Sidri? How do the Sidri even know the X-Men were involved with this; let alone with specific members of the team sent the vaccine? Raab is apparently testing the waters for his latest pitch, Untold Tales of the X-Men That Don’t Make Any Sense.

Aside from this, last issue’s cliffhanger is essentially ignored, with only Douglock briefly reflecting on how much he misses Wolfsbane. No one can be bothered to mention how utterly dumb both Moira and Wolfsbane acted last issue, or muster up enough energy to actually free them from the quarantine? Plus, for the thousandth time, I’ll mention Raab’s sad interpretation of Peter Wisdom’s accent, which now has him using “ye” instead of “you.” Artistically, Mel Rubi has moved on from imitating Jim Lee to a Joe Quesada pastiche. It’s still ugly in places, but Quesada seems to suit him more. Eventually, Rubi will move on to J. Scott Campbell, and actually do decent work in that style.

Amendments

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Mel Rubi (penciler), Rob Hunter (inker), Comicraft (letters), Kevin Somers (colors)

Summary: Excalibur regroups and defends Colossus against the Sidri. When the aliens realize Douglock is Phalanx, they steal some of his components. Meggan and Pete Wisdom combine powers for a fire blast, which forces the Sidri to retreat. Douglock reveals that the Sidri are also techno-organic, and stealing his communication components will now enable them to rejoin their race. Meanwhile, Wolfsbane consoles Moira inside the quarantine, while Shadowcat returns home. Lockheed mysteriously disappears in a flash again. Unbeknownst to Kitty, her Bamf doll now has an evil grin.

Continuity Notes: Douglock says that giving his communication components to the Sidri has severed him even more from the Phalanx. Shadowcat is returning from the Kitty Pryde: Agent of SHIELD miniseries, but she’s now wearing elaborate body armor that never appeared in that series.

I Love the ‘90s: Kitty lets out a “Not!” while talking to Lockheed.

Review: At least the Sidri are taken care of relatively quickly. Raab works in a few character moments during the fight, and the Sidri actually do come across as rather formidable, although the claim that they’re also techno-organic and can intuitively use Douglock’s technology to rejoin their race is suspect. Over in Subplot Land, Moira tries to get Wolfsbane out of quarantine, but she’s talked out of it. Of course, if Moira hadn’t stupidly set the door to unlock only when a Legacy Virus cure was found, she wouldn’t be in this predicament. Lockheed goes back to whatever it was Raab had him doing a few months ago, while one of Kitty’s Bamf dolls is apparently evil. Nice cliffhanger, and hopefully the Lockheed subplot will actually get some closure soon.

EXCALIBUR #114-#115, November-December 1997

For the One I Love

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Pete Woods (penciler), Scott Koblish (inker), Comicraft’s Kiff Scholl (letters), Kevin Tinsley (colors)

Summary: Shadowcat searches the tunnels under Muir Island for Lockheed, as Colossus and Meggan return from France. In her lab, Moira notices an email on their private account from SHIELD. It’s addressed to Shadowcat. Meanwhile, Peter Wisdom is tortured by his ex-girlfriend, and current Black Air agent, Sari St. Hubbins. He escapes his shackles and defeats her in a fight. He offers to leave her alone if Black Air calls off its hits on Excalibur.

Continuity Notes: Wisdom reveals that Sari St. Hubbins was an assassin, and he had to turn her in after her failed attempt on Queen Elizabeth. She’s also supposed to be mentally deranged, as Wisdom hoped that she would get better in rehab. St. Hubbins claims that Black Air was behind the suicide pilot that nearly killed Colossus and Meggan.

Review: The Peter Wisdom subplot finally becomes the main story, and while this resolves one mystery, it also gives us even more pages of Raab accents. Actually, Wisdom’s dialect is slightly subdued here (by Raab standards, at least), but Raab’s interpretation is still a pale imitation of the character Ellis created. Sari St. Hubbins is also a weak villain; a jealous ex-girlfriend with a bit of insanity thrown in…is this really the culprit behind the dark conspiracy Raab’s been setting up since the beginning of his run? The rest of the issue consists of set ups for the New Mutants and Kitty Pryde: Agent of SHIELD miniseries, along with a few references to the ongoing subplots. Not that any of those subplots actually go anywhere, of course. I’m starting to notice a pattern in these issues…

Missionaries

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Mel Rubi (penciler), Scott Koblish (inker), Comicraft’s Kiff Scholl (letters), Kevin Tinsley (colors)

Summary: Banshee responds to an urgent message from Wolfsbane. He learns that Moira plans on keeping herself in quarantine until a cure for the Legacy Virus can be found. As he tries to talk her out of her decision, Douglock and Wolfsbane grow closer. Meanwhile, Meggan receives a letter from Captain Britain, promising to return soon, as Peter Wisdom unsuccessfully uses Cerebro to search for Nightcrawler. Later, Moira says goodbye to the team and heads into quarantine. Wolfsbane impulsively follows her, and Douglock is unable to unlock the door.

Continuity Notes: According to the recap foldout, Shadowcat left in a SHIELD helicarrier last issue, and Lockheed escaped his shadowy captors by hiding in her suitcase. Neither of these events happened last issue, so I’m assuming these are references to the Kitty Pryde: Agent of SHIELD miniseries.

Miscellaneous Note: The Statement of Ownership lists average yearly sales at 112,177 copies with the most recent issue selling 94,672 copies.

Review: Ben Raab and Mel Rubi reunite on another story co-starring Banshee…could it top the sheer awfulness of their X-Men Unlimited issue? Well, it’s close, but the slight improvement in Rubi’s art prevents this one from reaching the depths of Unlimited. Not only are we treated to entire issue of Banshee and Moira’s insane accents (“The human race is gaunnae be extinct!”), but the plot is probably the weakest Raab’s produced so far. Apparently, Moira’s quarantine chamber can’t be opened period. Not even from the inside, as Banshee exclaims after Wolfsbane jumps behind the doors. I’m all for exploring Moira’s reaction to her Legacy Virus infection, especially if it means dealing with unpleasant issues like how to prevent the victims from spreading the disease. But Moira locking herself in a room that she can never leave? That’s too dumb for words. The subplots are also disappointing, as Wisdom fruitlessly searches for Nightcrawler (why didn’t he get the info out of Sari St. Hubbins after they made a truce last issue?), and Colossus hints that he has a crush on Meggan…the same dilemma Nightcrawler found himself in during the early issues of the series. Maybe some great twists are on the way, but I’m starting to wonder how bad this series is going to get.

EXCALIBUR #113 - October 1997

Faith

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Pete Woods (penciler), Scott Koblish (inker), Comicraft (letters), Kevin Tinsley (colors)

Summary: On Wundagore Mountain, Colossus and Meggan are taken in by Bova. Sir Ram challenges Colossus due to his connection to Exodus, but Colossus convinces him that he’s changed. After meeting the High Evolutionary, Colossus and Meggan learn that Exodus is preparing to strike Wundagore and kidnap Magneto’s granddaughter, Luna. He claims that he must face Exodus alone and, despite their protests, teleports them to their original destination. Meanwhile, Wolfsbane and Douglock share an unexpected kiss before she departs for a New Mutants reunion, Peter Wisdom is tortured by a Black Air agent, and Lockheed is confronted by mysterious beings.

Continuity Notes: Luna is living with High Evolutionary because Quicksilver left her in his care while he mourned Crystal (who was believed dead after the Onslaught battle). A footnote says the story of Exodus and High Evolutionary’s battle will be told in the Quicksilver series. Lockheed is shown speaking English again (Warren Ellis had him doing it once) during his confrontation with whoever these mystery characters are supposed to be.

Review: I’ll give Raab credit, he’s picked up the pace this issue. Unfortunately, it looks the Colossus/Meggan storyline has just been an extended promo for the Quicksilver book (and ends with High Evolutionary stupidly rejecting help from two of the most powerful mutants in existence), but the rest of the subplots show promise. Doing a romantic subplot with Douglock is kind of ridiculous, but Raab seems to be aware of that and is actually using it as a plot point. The Peter Wisdom subplot seems like it’s there just to assure readers it hasn’t been forgotten, while Lockheed unexpectedly gets his own arc. Ellis never explained Lockheed’s sudden use of English, and while you could just dismiss the scene as a one-time joke, I think it’s a good starting place for a new story. I’ve had some issues with Raab’s run so far, particularly the previous two issues, but I still haven’t encountered anything that matches the book’s extremely low reputation online. Raab does do a terrible job with Peter Wisdom’s accent, though. Is that why people hated his run so much?

EXCALIBUR #111-#112, August-September 1997

Broken Vows

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Rob Stotz (breakdowns), Scott Koblish (inker), Comicraft (letters), Kevin Tinsley (colors)

Summary: In Hong Kong, Excalibur visits Rory Campbell, who now works for Sebastian Shaw’s corporation. Kitty is suddenly possessed by the spirit of Ogun and attacks the team. Peter Wisdom threatens to kill Kitty if that’s what it takes to free her of Ogun. Rather than risk the death of his host body, Ogun’s spirit exits Kitty. Later, while on a Shaw Industries jet to Paris, Meggan and Colossus learn the pilot has strapped explosives to his chest. The jet explodes.

Continuity Notes: The team is in Hong Kong following their adventure in China with the Dragons of the Crimson Dawn. Captain Britain has left the team in-between issues following the loss of his powers. Rory Campbell uses cybernetic devices to walk now, which Nightcrawler fears is another sign he’s becoming Ahab. Colossus finally tells Nightcrawler about Amanda Sefton’s abrupt departure from Muir Island. Peter Wisdom checks his e-mail and learns his contact Jardine has been killed.

Review: A lot of subplots, and a main story that only consists of Kitty Pryde getting possessed and fighting the team for a few pages. The action sequences might’ve elevated the issue, but the art is ugly enough during the conversation scenes. The fight scene is even harder to look at. Not all of Raab’s ideas are bad, and I’m glad he hasn’t forgotten the Rory Campbell storyline, but the dialogue is so stilted it’s hard to care that much about anything that’s going on. His foreign accents, especially Peter Wisdom’s, are especially awkward.

Survival

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Pete Woods (pencils), Scott Koblish (inker), Comicraft (letters), Kevin Tinsley (colors)

Summary: Meggan attempts to use her elemental powers to keep the jet’s debris afloat, but a mysterious force blocks her powers. Colossus shelters her as they crash into the Swiss Alps. After carrying the frail Meggan for hours, he encounters a hi-tech installation. Meanwhile, in Germany, Nightcrawler tags along as Peter Wisdom investigates the murder of his friend Jardine. Soon, they’re confronted by a mystery figure. On Muir Island, Douglock begins to develop feelings for Wolfsbane.

I Love the ‘90s: The Chemical Brothers song “Block Rockin’ Beats” is blaring in a club Nightcrawler and Wisdom visit.

Review: At least Pete Woods drew this one. I’m not sure if any thread qualifies as the main story this issue, although Colossus and Meggan trudging through the snow seems to take up a slight majority of the pages. After backtracking on the previous issue’s cliffhanger (somehow a portion of the jet survived the massive explosion that consumed the entire craft), we’re treated to several pages of Colossus trying to land a jet, and then walking through the Alps for hours. This isn’t very exciting, and it’s pretty obvious that this is leading towards a High Evolutionary story, so I wish Raab would get on with it. I personally like subplot-heavy comics, but this is the second issue in a row that feels too thin. I do like the pairing of Nightcrawler and Wisdom, and the brief acknowledgment of Rahne’s fears over Moira’s sickness, though.

EXCALIBUR #-1 - July 1997

A True & Terrible Sacrifice

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Rob Haynes & Casey Jones (pencilers), Nathan Massengill w/ Rob Haynes & Casey Jones (inkers), Kevin Tinsley (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Nightcrawler invites his girlfriend Jimaine Szardos to leave the circus with him. Her mother Margali doesn’t want Jimaine to go, claiming that she must first teach her of the Winding Way. Margali shows Jimaine an image of the Soul Sword, which invokes a brief appearance by Belasco. Later, circus aerialist Sabu asks Jimaine if he can take her place during Nightcrawler’s final performance. Margali uses the opportunity to arrange Sabu’s death during the performance. Margali disguises herself as Belasco and delivers a warning to Jimaine. When Jimaine learns of Sabu’s death, she agrees to stay behind to gain revenge on Belasco.

Continuity Notes: “Jimaine Szardos” will later change her name to Amanda Sefton while spying on Nightcrawler, who was believed to be her brother's killer. Nightcrawler was working at the circus shortly before he joined the X-Men, so he had to have returned at some point over the years.

Miscellaneous Note: The cover is an homage to UXM #111.

Review: Nightcrawler was probably the best candidate to star in a Flashback issue, although Amanda/Jimaine ends up with much of the spotlight. Warren Ellis got a lot of mileage out of Amanda Sefton and Margali, so I can understand why Ben Raab would want to keep the characters around. I don’t know where exactly Raab intended to go with this, and I’m not sure if it really adds anything to the Amanda/Margali relationship. We already know Margali’s dishonest and manipulative, so the only new reason for Amanda to hate her comes from the death of a minor character. Raab does handle the characterizations of Nightcrawler and Amanda well, though, so this doesn’t feel like total filler. It’s also nice to see the return of Rob Haynes and Casey Jones, who are dynamic enough to pull off a dialogue-heavy issue. Either artist would've been a capable replacement for Pacheco.

EXCALIBUR #110 - June 1997

Hearts Bled Crimson

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Salvador Larroca (penciler), Scott Koblish (inker), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters), Kevin Tinsley (colors)

Summary: Excalibur arrives in Hong Kong with Spiral to rescue Brian Braddock from the Dragons of the Crimson Dawn. Meggan sees a vision of Xiandu, a former associate of the Dragons, who offers her guidance. Inside their fortress, the Dragons use Sprial’s technology to draw magic from Brian and erase the barrier between the mystical and physical realms. Spiral distracts the Dragons as Meggan uses her elemental powers to draw energy away from the portal and into Brian. Brian unleashes the energy and discovers his superpowers are gone. The Dragons escape, swearing revenge.

Continuity Notes: Xiandu explains that he joined three fellow monks at the end of the Ming Dynasty in contacting the Crimson Dawn. His friends grew corrupted with their power and eventually killed him, becoming the Dragons of the Crimson Dawn.

Review: Wow, this was a long way to go just to write Captain Britain out of the book again. I do like the fact that Raab is expanding the Crimson Dawn into more than just a plot device, and he’s able to use Spiral’s constantly changing motivations and loyalties effectively, but I have no idea why Captain Britain is being tossed just a few issues after Warren Ellis revived the persona. The mechanics of how exactly he loses his powers at the end of the story are fairly nonsensical anyway. He’s overloaded with energy, grows large, there’s a flash of light, and he’s powerless at the end. It seems like the release of all of this mystic energy would’ve had some sort of consequence, rather than just conveniently taking away his powers. This isn’t a great conclusion to Raab’s first arc, but there have been moments I liked, so maybe things will pick up.

EXCALIBUR #108 - #109, April - May 1997

The Old Way

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Salvador Larroca (penciler), Scott Koblish (inker), Kevin Tinsley & GCW (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Colossus bumps into Amanda Sefton as she abruptly leaves Muir Island. She mysteriously refuses to say goodbye to Nightcrawler. Peter Wisdom receives a message from a “Peckham,” which upsets him. Meanwhile in London, Brian Braddock is attacked by the Dragons of the Crimson Dawn. Meggan is briefly knocked unconscious during the fight, but comes to and rescues Braddock when one of the Dragons drops him from the sky. Spiral tries to sneak away, but is warned by the Dragons that she still has work to do. The Dragons teleport away with Braddock, leaving Meggan to ask Spiral for help.

Continuity Notes: Shadowcat and Wolfsbane travel to Dublin for a brief vacation. They visit the world famous hairdresser Molly Fitzgerald, who is secretly the hero Shamrock. She’s using crutches, which she claims she needs after slipping in “the loo.” The story doesn’t identify her as Shamrock, and the letters page essentially dares the readers to identify who she’s supposed to be.

The Dragons of the Crimson Dawn consist of Ra’al (the female leader with a deadly kiss), Barak (the big strong man who can grow larger), and the flier, A’Yin.

Review: The storylines keep moving, albeit slowly. The main goal of this issue is to introduce the Dragons of the Crimson Dawn with a lengthy fight scene. Unfortunately, Larroca’s storytelling isn’t really able to create a truly energetic fight at this point. Plus, the villains are all otherworldly mystic characters with vague motivations, so it’s hard to care that much this early on. All of this is standard team comic material, as the hero loses the first round of the fight before the rest of the team is brought in, while a few subplots involving the remaining cast build in the background. Nothing really stands out as good or bad, but I am slightly intrigued by the Shamrock cameo. I can’t imagine the character showing up for anything other than camp appeal or comedic relief, but I wonder why Raab saw fit to put her in crutches. That just has to be a setup for something in the future, because surely no one would go out their way to establish such a minor character was injured without having some justification. And “slipping in the bathroom” just stands out as a rather obvious lie.

Dragon Moon Rising

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Salvador Larroca (penciler), Scott Koblish (inker), Kevin Tinsley & GCW (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Spiral arrives at Muir Island with Meggan, and is promptly attacked by Excalibur. When Meggan eventually recovers from the disorienting effects of Spiral’s teleportation, she explains to the team that Spiral is actually helping her. Spiral claims that she came across the Dragons while exploring the mystical Wildways. The Dragons used their superior magic to draw Spiral to their side, forcing her to locate Psylocke’s more powerful brother, Brian Braddock. Meanwhile in Hong Kong, Braddock awakes. After he fails to defend himself, Ra’al enters Braddock’s mind.

Review: So, what’s accomplished this issue? We learn the reason why Spiral joined the Dragons of the Crimson Dawn, although the story acknowledges that she isn’t the most reliable source on Earth. (And if their magic is so much more powerful than hers, why do they need her to find Brian Braddock in the first place?) The team then leaves with Spiral to locate Captain Britain, which only advances the plot one millimeter since the last issue ended with Spiral and Meggan leaving to recruit Excalibur. I guess if you really wanted to see Excalibur fight Spiral for several pages, there’s plenty of action here to entertain you, but the main story is dragging. This is also the second issue in a row that has Meggan conveniently knocked unconscious for most of the story, which is a cheat if you consider that she’s supposed to be the most powerful member of the team. I do like the way Raab is tying the Crimson Dawn into the other mystical realms of the Marvel Universe, such as the “Wildways” introduced in the Longshot miniseries, but I wish the pace wasn’t so slow.

EXCALIBUR #106 - #107, February - March 1997

Previously…in Excalibur: Warren Ellis left and there were a couple of fill-ins.

A Portrait of the Artist

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Randy Green, Casey Jones, Rob Haynes, & Aaron Lopresti (pencilers), Martin/Haynes/Ketcham/Pinnock/Simmons/Lopresti/Jones (inkers), Araine Lenshoek & Malibu (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Colossus receives a message from the Acolytes, who want him to join Exodus in rebuilding Avalon. He travels with Excalibur to the X-Men’s former Australian base, where the Acolytes are located. After intentionally setting off all of the security landmines, Colossus is locked in a room with Scanner and Unuscione. Colossus tries to convince them not to join Exodus. His words almost sway Scanner, but Unuscione forces her to leave. As Excalibur flies home, Peter Wisdom tries to comfort Colossus.

I Love the ‘90s: Colossus is listening to Prodigy’s “Firestarter” while painting a portrait of Meggan in the opening scene.

Review: Ben Raab’s run begins with this issue, and if I’m to believe the conventional wisdom of the internet, we’re in for a rough ride. Raab was a Marvel editor who began picking up freelance work during this time, and I believe this was his first regular assignment. To Raab’s credit, he has found work with DC and several independent publishers, so clearly he’s been able to convince more than just a few people at Marvel that he’s able to write. I can’t find anything particularly wrong with his work in this issue, aside from a few questionable uses of Moira and Peter Wisdom’s accents. In his first issue, Raab picks up on the idea that Colossus is supposed to be redeeming himself with Excalibur. There’s a nice scene that has him walking through a minefield in order to clear a path for the team, which uses his powers effectively and helps to establish his state of mind. Connecting Colossus’ shame over betraying the X-Men and Wisdom’s conflicted feelings about his black ops work is another interesting angle that could be explored. The Excalibur tradition of multiple artists per issue continues, as four pencilers and numerous inkers are brought in. Green, Jones, and Haynes all meld together fairly well, but Lopresti’s style is closer to Alan Davis or Terry Dodson, which creates an awkward transition at the end.

Focus

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Salvador Larroca (penciler), Scott Koblish (inker), Kevin Tinsley & GCW (colors), Richard Starkings & Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Following Charles Xavier’s example, Nightcrawler reveals his plans to use Cerebro to locate British mutants. Meanwhile, Moira MacTaggert and Douglock research the Legacy Virus, as Brian Braddock and Meggan visit London. The public’s backlash against the Onslaught disaster, and the satanic attack on London, leads Braddock to renounce his role as Captain Britain. While shopping for an engagement ring for Meggan, Spiral appears, wearing the mark of the Crimson Dawn. She warns Braddock of a threat to his family, the Dragons of the Crimson Dawn.

Continuity Notes: It’s stated repeatedly in this issue that only telepaths can use Cerebro, even though non-telepaths have been shown using it in the past (various stories over the years have contradicted one another on this). My No-Prize explanation for this has always been that telepaths are just better at using it. Even though there are no telepaths on the team, Nightcrawler doesn’t explain how exactly he plans on using Cerebro.

Review: Raab was supposed to begin his run with Salvador Larroca but filled in an issue early, so this is the true beginning of his stint. I don’t know if titling this issue “Focus” was a joke or not, since it mainly consists of unconnected subplots and setups for future storylines. Raab, being an editor on the X-line, is understandably familiar with the status quo of the books, so we get references to Onslaught, the demonic attack in issue #100, Rory Campbell getting a prosthetic leg, and Psylocke’s makeover by the Crimson Dawn. He also revives a few forgotten storylines, such as Moira’s curiosity over X-Man’s genetic similarity to Cable, the hint that Cable could somehow cure the Legacy Virus (Douglock was also supposed to be a key for the cure, so I’m sure it’s not a coincidence he’s used in this scene), and Captain Britain and Meggan’s engagement. This is mostly setup, so it’s hard to offer much judgment, but Raab is able to make a fairly smooth transition into the book. I do have to point out that his British accents are often horrendous, and his characterization of Brian Braddock seems odd. Would he really renounce his role as Captain Britain, which he only regained a few weeks earlier, because of some snotty comments overheard on the street? It comes out of nowhere and doesn’t seem to fit the character at all.

The Year in Review - 1996

The industry slump finally makes its presence felt within the X-titles, even though most of the books remain in the Top 20. The slick paper quality is downgraded back to newsprint, which hurts the production values and inadvertently gives the books a “cheaper” feel. The latest crossover event, “Onslaught,” is expanded outside of the X-titles and used to justify the relaunched Marvel titles assigned to Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld. It’s an outrageous stunt, not popular even within Marvel, but the reasoning is that Marvel has to do something drastic to draw attention to the non-X titles.

Uncanny X-Men – The year’s opening issues resolve the “Psylocke is near-death” plot, which has Wolverine and Archangel searching for a mystical cure. She’s healed, and develops vaguely defined “shadow teleportation” powers out of the deal. These issues on their own are kind of fun, largely thanks to Madueira’s art, but altering Psylocke yet again isn’t a good idea, and just tacks more nonsense on to a character that was already being dismissed as “too confusing”. After this arc, there are a few more one-issue stories, and then “Onslaught” begins. The specific issues of “Onslaught” in UXM are at least tolerable (the major problem with “Onslaught” is the overall execution), but the rest of the year is very weak. Archangel’s metal wings are replaced by his originals, for reasons that are never explained. Havok shows up as a villain, which ties into the X-Factor’s sheer stupidity at the time. Iceman’s dad, previously portrayed as a comically exaggerated bigot, suddenly starts speaking out for mutant rights and gets horribly beaten for it. This issue actually has its moments, but the arbitrary characterization change feels lazy. The end of the year has the team kidnapped into space, where they’ll stay for a really long time.

X-Men volume two – Scott Lobdell winds down his fill-in run, plotting X-Men #49, which tries to sell the ridiculous idea that the Dark Beast never even considered that he had a counterpart in this reality (and never saw him on television during his years as a celebrity member of the Avengers or when he was interviewed as a world-renowned scientist). The next issue is essentially an issue-long fight scene with Onslaught’s herald, Post. Andy Kubert has some great moments in the issue, and if you’re willing to forgive the fact that all of the Onslaught hints add up to nothing, it’s pretty entertaining. Then, Mark Waid tries to write the X-Men, but it only lasts a few issues. Waid’s run is too short to really judge, but he does do a credible job of building up Onslaught as a potentially good idea. If he had more of a voice in the crossover, and was involved in the stories that initially set up the mystery, I think things would’ve worked out a lot better. Scott Lobdell then returns to the title, writing a series of forgettable “downtime” issues, and then an atrocious two-parter with Storm and Candra.

X-Force – Jeph Loeb and Adam Pollina continue their run, which has them reinventing Boomer as “tough girl” Meltdown early in the year. Some of the character work isn’t bad, but the plots become increasingly erratic as the year goes on. The dangling X-Ternals subplot from early in the title’s run is “resolved” by showing that X-Ternals really can die, and just having a few lines of dialogue declare that Cannonball (who’s not even a cast member at this point) never was one in the first place. Soon, it’s time for “Onslaught.” The title really has nothing to do in the crossover, but it’s the book where the mansion is destroyed, which I guess has to happen every five years or so. After the crossover, Loeb’s final arc begins – the infamous “Origin of Shatterstar” storyline. Loeb, apparently annoyed at editorial rewrites, abandons the book as soon as it’s done. The story is such utter nonsense, the letters column has to apologize for it repeatedly.

Cable – The year opens with a crossover with X-Man, which of course involves a lot of explosions and double-page spreads. After the crossover is done, Cable spends a few issues fighting Onslaught’s flunkies, and then deals with his techno-organic virus going out of control. Loeb is able to use Cable somewhat effectively as a protagonist, but the actual stories he stars in are almost always unremarkable.

X-Factor – After X-Factor finishes the tedious Adversary storyline, Sabretooth joins the cast. Howard Mackie is joined by Jeff Matsuda as artist, which means the book that’s supposed to be heading in a new grim direction is illustrated by the cartooniest artist in comics. The team is now a “mutant militia,” secretly controlled by shadowy government forces that want to do very evil things that the story never gets around to explaining. Havok is brainwashed by the Dark Beast into becoming a villain, and even after the brainwashing wears off, decides that he just wants to be bad anyway. After this idiocy, the book tries to resolve the “Graydon Creed for President” storyline. Even after numerous issues detail Mystique’s desire to kill Creed, she suddenly shows up in this issue as his protector (her giant gun is just a “forcefield generator”). As X-Factor places her back in custody, Creed is killed by a mystery figure that the title never bothers to reveal (a separate miniseries years later finally resolves the mystery). Madrox returns from the dead, with an obvious explanation anyone could see coming. The final story arc of the year has Havok deciding to form a new Brotherhood team, apparently as his response to being manipulated by so many people over the years. He promptly recruits Dark Beast, the villain who brainwashed him just a few issues earlier, as one of the members. This is one of the titles that directly lead to the end of my X-completist days, and its sheer awfulness is still shocking to me.

Wolverine – After Marvel spends months teasing the return of Wolverine’s adamantium in issue #100, the audience receives a major fake-out. Not only does Wolverine reject the adamantium the villain Genesis tries to bond to his bones, but the process (somehow) turns him into a feral animal. In a move that still stands out as one of the dumbest things ever done to the character, Wolverine devolves into a grunting, nose-less beast. Larry Hama openly opposes the idea, but tries to make the best of it. Wolverine #102 is actually a great issue, mainly because it tells a story that really has nothing to do with Wolverine’s new state. After that, Adam Kubert departs the title and the book never really recovers. After a few months, Wolverine’s original appearance reemerges, and he returns to Japan to fight more ninjas. Hama and new artist Anthony Winn aren’t a bad pair, but the book’s momentum is hurt by the editorial meddling and months of fill-ins.

Excalibur – Warren Ellis introduces the British Hellfire Club and merges the concept with his ongoing Black Air storyline. The pieces come together in issue #100, which is a terrific issue that also sees the return of Captain Britain. It’s followed by a few quiet issues that focus on the cast’s reaction to the Onslaught affair and Peter Wisdom’s relationship with Shadowcat. Warren Ellis’ final issue has Belasco tormenting the team with alternate versions of themselves. Carlos Pacheco only pencils a few issues of this run, even though he’s the designated regular artist, but the issues he does draw are great. The closing issues of the year are fill-ins that deal with questions about Douglock that had already been answered, but guest writers John Acrudi and Keith Giffen do a surprisingly good job.

X- Men Unlimited – The first X-Men Unlimited issue of the year actually isn’t filler, shockingly enough. Mark Waid writes the story of the Dark Beast kidnapping and replacing the X-Men’s Beast. It’s executed very well, and it’s unfortunate the plot eventually goes nowhere. The next issue also has some significance, as Rogue encounters Joseph, putting the characters in place for the “Onslaught” crossover. The story has its flaws, but Steve Epting’s does a fine job on the art. Issue #12 details what happened to Juggernaut after Onslaught trapped him inside the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak. John Francis Moore tells a fairly innocuous story about Juggernaut’s inability to ever change what he is. Following this issue, the title returns to quarterly inventory stories, making it an easy book for me to drop.

Generation X – After a few more bland issues, Chris Bachalo thankfully returns to the title. Scott Lobdell sidesteps the “Onslaught” storyline by having Emma Frost hide the team away for a few issues because she thinks something bad is coming. It’s a smart idea, and the resulting story is fun. Later, Skin and Chamber go on a road trip that has them running into Howard the Duck for a few issues. Meanwhile, Nightmare makes some cryptic comments to Emma Frost that never amount to anything. The remaining issues of the year are small, character-driven stories. They’re not terrible, but the pacing of this book is so leisurely it feels as if barely anything ever happens.

X-Man – John Ostrander and Steve Skroce start the year as the title’s creative team, and by the end of the year we have Terry Kavanagh and Roger Cruz. Despite the change, the book essentially remains the same; X-Man wanders aimlessly, runs into a character within the X-canon, irrationally starts a fight, his powers explode, the end. Kavanagh moves the character to New York City with Threnody, which does at least move the book away from the formula for a few issues, but the quality is essentially the same.

Limited Series and One-Shots – This begins an era of an endless series of one-shots and miniseries. Between 1996 and 1997, we’re given Domino, Beast, Colossus, Imperial Guard, XSE, Gambit vol. 2, Magneto and more. I avoided most of these, but I have read Peter Milligan and Leonardo Manco’s Archangel one-shot, and the Peter Milligan/John Paul Leon Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix mini. Archangel reminds me of one of the better Classic X-Men back-ups, and Cyclops and Phoenix is executed very well, despite some annoying retcons. The “Heroes Reborn” deal with Jim Lee allows Marvel to publish a Team X/Team 7 crossover one-shot by Larry Hama and Steve Epting. It’s a decent action story with impressive art . There’s also the Road to Onslaught one-shot, which presents a much more credible plan for the crossover that unfortunately wasn’t followed in any of the actual comics. Onslaught: X-Men and Onslaught: Marvel Universe do the dirty work of revealing Xavier as Onslaught and "killing" most of the non-mutant heroes. Adam Kubert's art is a selling point, but there's only so much Mark Waid can do with the forced "event."

The Events: Professor Xavier (partially under the influence of Magneto’s consciousness) snaps and becomes Onslaught. We see the full message from Jean Grey that Bishop saw in the future, revealing Xavier/Onslaught as the X-traitor. After the non-mutant heroes sacrifice themselves to stop him, a powerless Xavier voluntarily places himself in custody. Wolverine regresses into an animal-like form. Sabretooth is forced to join X-Factor. Madrox returns. Joseph moves in with the X-Men. Archangel’s metal wings are replaced by his original feather wings.

The “What Were They Thinking?” Award: I honestly can’t narrow it down to just one event. Should I choose the revelation that the Dark Beast never realized in twenty years that he had a counterpart in this reality (who just happened to be a celebrity)? Psylocke receiving new, vaguely defined powers? The dozens of hints leading up to Onslaught’s debut that don’t add up? Archangel’s wings changing form with absolutely no explanation? Revealing that the waitress Bishop recognized years earlier was actually Fatale, a shapeshifter who hadn’t been created at that point? Shatterstar’s muddled origin that expects us to believe that he’s been a comatose boy in a mental institution during all of his appearances? Havok suddenly deciding he wants to be a villain? Graydon Creed’s death scene, which has him turning into a pile of ashes? Wolverine turning into a dog? If I had to pick, I'd say Wolverine's transformation into a dog.

What’s the Appeal? : It’s hard to say at this point. I can look at the previous years and understand why the books remained so popular and why I was personally willing to stay a completist. But this is just ridiculous. The big Marvel event of the year comes from the X-books, so I guess there is the sense that important things are going on. Most of the artists are at least competent, although there does seem to be a rash of ugly fill-ins in quite a few of the titles. By now, I think the books are really just running on the momentum from the previous years.

Were the Critics Right? : I didn’t realize 1996 contained so many horrible ideas until I did a review of the entire line. Bad idea is followed by bad idea, titles languish without direction for months at a time, and long-running mysteries are just ignored, or resolved in ways that can’t be reconciled with the original stories. I remember Glenn Greenberg commenting somewhere that another Marvel employee (it might have even been Bob Harras) felt that the Superman titles never recovered after the death and resurrection of Superman storylines because they had nowhere else to go. Looking back, it seems as if the “Age of Apocalypse” storyline might’ve been the equivalent for the X-books.

“Age of Apocalypse” is the ultimate “What If?” because the creators have so many issues to explore the idea, it’s darker than any dystopian future we’ve ever seen, and it tops all of the previous “X-Men as underdogs” stories (if not in story quality, at least in establishing the opposition). After you’ve remade your entire line of titles for four months and sold this new reality, where do you go from there? I guess unveiling a new cosmic-level menace, and then making him Professor Xavier, can get people talking, but Marvel was in such a chaotic state behind-the-scenes (due to the bankruptcy) at the time, no one seemed equipped to pull the idea off. The final result is just a mess, and after the big storyline is through, most of the titles don’t seem to know how to go back to normal.